Special Needs Trusts

A special needs trust is a discretionary trust meant for the benefit of a disabled person, with the goal of maintaining whatever governmental benefits are available to the disabled person. Usually, a special needs trust will prohibit direct distributions to the beneficiary, and require the trustee to purchase goods and services for the benefit of the beneficiary.

One of the lesser-known issues in Medicaid or MassHealth planning is that assets can be transferred to special needs trusts even after a nursing home stay has begun. Thus, the estate plan of any family which has a disabled child needs to have the flexibility to preserve assets for the child via a special needs trust and a durable power of attorney which allows the funding of the trust.

The Law Offices of Brian E. Barreira are located in Plymouth, Massachusetts and Hingham, Massachusetts and, while some of our clients choose to travel long distances, we primarily serve the residents of Plymouth County (which includes the communities of Abington, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Middleboro, Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, Scituate, Wareham and West Bridgewater), the Upper Cape portion of Barnstable County (which includes the communities of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee and Sandwich) and southeastern Norfolk County (including the communities of Braintree, Canton, Cohasset, Holbrook, Quincy, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton and Weymouth).

No attorney-client relationship is established without a written fee agreement and initial consultation. [ Site Map ]